


Re:Enslave

by Leonee



Series: Memories [5]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Mother-Son Relationship, Parent-Child Relationship, Sunlit Garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 19:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9008605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonee/pseuds/Leonee
Summary: Arima's last talk with his mother.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Arima Week Day 5: Loneliness
> 
> You didn't see this coming, did you?
> 
> This fic told from his mother's point of view.

A child was dancing among the flowers, his feather light steps making small sounds as they touched the grass beneath. He ran, clutching the rocks he collected in his hands, scattering them around in seemingly random shapes. His white shirt, a few sizes too big, swayed as he moved and laughed. His hair was jumping up and down.

“Kishou!” She called out to him from where she was sitting among the flowers, smiling softly.

He stopped hopping around and turned to her.

“Come here.” She opened her arms and watched him run back to her, his eyes full of joy. He all but jumped into her welcoming arms and she laughed, stroking his hair as he rested his head on her chest. It endeared her, how he fit into her arms perfectly. He was so warm. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, as if trying to protect him. When she spoke, her voice held a hint of sadness. “My little boy…”

She rested her cheek against his head as she ran her fingers through the blue strands. Such a lovely, rich color… It reminded her of her own hair from when she was young. It had been only a few shades lighter. Thick, silky strands… How sad that it had lost its color so quickly. Now it was white like her son's cute little teeth, revealed when he laughed gleefully as he played. What was happening to her at the moment, was going to happen to him as well, one day… He was no longer going to laugh so wholly, smile so innocently... She instinctively pulled him closer. What was he going to do without her?

Kishou looked up, having sensed the tension in her body. “Mommy?”

She swallowed and tried to smile reassuringly. She hoped that her face didn't give too much away. “It’s alright, dear.” She brought her hands up to cup his little face. He was so cute, so lovely. Soft, round features adorning his face; full, rosy lips… Such a pure, innocent beauty… It broke her heart to remember that she wouldn’t be there to see him bloom into a beautiful young man. Gray eyes he inherited from his mother, gleaming with intelligence… She couldn’t bear to think that he would become just another replaceable puppet for the Washuu…

_Kishou… If I could somehow protect you, save you from this horrible life, no matter what the cost was for myself, I would._

_Please, forgive me for my powerlessness._

“Mommy!” Kishou raised his hand to her face, fingers hovering over her cheek. She quickly wiped the tears away and tried to look as if it hadn’t happened even when she knew that she couldn’t fool him. He always noticed when something was wrong, no matter how much she tried to wave it away. Such a clever child… She stroked his cheek and kissed his forehead.

“What’s in your hand, Kishou?”

He looked down to his hand, already having forgotten that he had been holding something in it. He brought his hand up and opened it, revealing what’s inside. “A leaf from Outside.” He brought it closer to his face and his lip trembled. “It’s trampled…”

“Shh… It’s okay.” She soothed him. “You will find another one.” She caressed his back.

“This one was special. I wanted to show it to you.” He bowed his head. The windows of the Garden were sealed. They were rarely opened. It was quite the big deal among children when it was opened. It was a special occasion to be celebrated even among mothers because it allowed in the breeze from Outside. Fresh air filled their lungs and sometimes the wind carried things from the outer world: Mostly leaves and if they were lucky, petals. Children searched the fields to find them, making a game out of it.

Kishou had been stuffing them under his bed, in an effort to keep them. He had gathered dozens of leaves, secretly taking them out when no one was looking to admire them. There were different sizes, different shades… Big, small, green, yellow, red… He had cherished them so much with his child heart.

One morning, he had woken up to find them all gone.

He had cried so much, she hadn’t been able to quiet him even with her sweetest words and lullabies.

“How are your classes going?”

“Fine.” He plucked some grass from the ground. “We learned the names of animals.”

“How nice.” She combed his hair with her fingers, pulling his bangs away from his face.

“I made a giraffe with stones.” He pointed at the part of the field he had been hopping around.

She chuckled. “That’s cute. Does it have a name?”

“No.” He scattered the grass around. Some of them got caught in the wind and flew away. He watched them with cloudy eyes, lost in his own thoughts. He was often like this, living in the world inside his head. He had never been a very talkative child. He was introverted and thoughtful. He tend to keep quiet unless he was directly asked a question but when he spoke, his intelligence shone through despite the sparsity of his words. He had such a big world in his little head.

“What are you thinking?”

He made a soft sound and looked down. “About Outside.”

She hummed. Children always thought about the Outer World, wondering and speculating about it. They wanted to explore the mysteries behind these walls, discover the land these leaves and beautiful petals came from. She herself had been full of wonder and excitement in her youth, dreaming and wishing all day. She had never got to see it though.

Perhaps Kishou would.

“Kishou…” She put her fingers under his chin and prompted him to look up. She smiled at him, etching his features into her memory. “I love you so much. You know that, don’t you?”

He stared at her, surprised.

“So much…” Tears were filling her eyes. “More than anything else in the entire world.” Her voice cracked even when it was barely above a whisper.

Even with her dulled senses, she could hear rustling from the opposite side of the field; feel the men in black watch from afar. They were observing, _waiting_. She felt her heart clench. She didn’t want to. She couldn’t. Her eyes stung as she watched her little son’s face. He was staring back at her wide-eyed, not understanding why she was crying all of a sudden. He reached out to her, touching her cheek.

“Never, _ever_ , forget that, Kishou.”

She spoke softly to him, kissing his forehead softly and hugging him close. She had so much to say but so little time… Finally, she stood. Wiping her tears away, she turned to face the men watching with a brave, stone cold expression fixed on her face.

She had cherished her time with him, even when she knew that it wouldn’t last long. She hadn’t alienated him like other mothers did to their children to protect their hearts from breaking. Both their children’s and their own… But wasn’t love worth the pain? Feeding his little heart warmth, desperate to give him something that would protect him and carry him throughout this difficult life…

_I hope you remember me fondly Kishou…_

Would he remember her at all?

She heard him call out to her and felt a sob rise at the back of her throat. She couldn’t turn back now. It was too late. She had to keep her head held high.

It was too late, _too late_ …

“Mommy!”

A sob escaped her at last.

“Kishou…”

She turned her head back to face him and saw him running at her. She reached out but the men pulled her away to the exit where countless others had disappeared into, never to be seen again. They held her tightly so she couldn’t escape their grip and run back.

“Mo-”

His cry was cut as the heavy door closed shut, separating them once and for all.

His tear stricken face was the last thing she could catch a glimpse of.

 

On the other side of the steel door, the heart-wrenching wail of a lonesome child was heard.

**Author's Note:**

> Only two more days left...
> 
> Please leave feedback if you can <3 And tell me what you think! Feedback is so important for writers. How else would we know that people actually read and like our works and not just click and leave? :D
> 
> Thank you, everyone who reads my stuff (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ You give me courage


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